Barbara Pierce Bush: Her 41st president grandfather ‘led with love’

GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- Barbara Pierce Bush, granddaughter of the late former President George H.W. Bush, said she hopes people remember her grandfather as example of someone who led with empathy, humility and decency.

“I think that my grandfather was an incredible leader in many ways, and I think his version of leadership looks different than what we see now,” Barbara Pierce Bush said before a speaking engagement Thursday in Grand Rapids. “He very much led with love. He really saw strength in softness. He was a very gentle human being, and I love him for that.

“I think that that’s an aspiration, to be that type of leader. I hope that he serves as an example of that form of leadership, of connecting and empathy and humility and decency.”

George H.W. Bush, the nation’s 41st president, died Nov. 30 at the age of 94. Barbara Pierce Bush also is the daughter of President George W. Bush.

Barbara Pierce Bush was in Grand Rapids on Jan. 10 at Calvin College as part of the university’s annual January Series lectures.

During a moderated discussion, she touched on her work with Global Health Corps, a non-profit she co-founded in 2009 to advance youth leadership in the fight for health equity in the U.S. and in Africa.

Barbara Pierce Bush also talked about her experiences growing up in a political dynasty.

She and her sister, Jenna Bush Hager -- the twin daughters of former President George W. Bush -- co-authored a book on those experiences in “Sisters First: Stories from our Wild and Wonderful Life.” It was released in 2017.

In a time when the country seems politically divided and the federal government remains shut down amid disputes about building a $5.7 billion wall on the Mexico border, Barbara Pierce Bush said uniting the country takes “willingness and bravery to listen.”

“I work with people from around the world, and we have much more in common than we have not in common,” she said. “So I think it requires a curiosity of others and to want to learn what motivates other people and not to quickly make assumptions about someone based on something that they said or a party they affiliate with.

“I think most people would say they were human before they were the party that they affiliated with, and trying to find that common humanity is so critical, both in terms of moving forward but also in the beauty of living and getting to know other people.”